Signs of Stress

Family caregivers often suffer from debilitating stress that can endanger their own health and place the person they care for at risk as well—especially those who are dealing with dementia. Anger, anxiety, sadness, exhaustion and guilt are just a few of the signals that you yourself may need assistance and support as a caregiver.

Helpful Tools

The Caregiver StressMeter is a brief confidential screening survey that's a valuable tool created by eldercare experts to help you assess your level of stress and connect you with helpful resources. There's also a checklist of red flags signaling caregiver burnout. If you are caring for your spouse, you'll want to read about the signs of emotional and physical stress that can put your own health in jeopardy.

Asking for help when the burden of caring for a loved one gets to be too much isn’t a sign of weakness. Many are faced with that stress. Home Instead CAREGiversSM are often called to provide respite care to families and are specially trained to work with all types of situations.

Stress and burnout are the most common problems for those who care for someone with Alzheimer's disease. And, in turn, caregiver stress — the emotional strain of tending to a loved one — is one of the biggest reasons people with the disease enter nursing facilities

Times have certainly changed since Lennon and McCartney penned and sang those words in 1967. Medical and healthcare strides are allowing people to live well into their 70's and 80's. Despite those health advances, the fact remains

The emotional experiences involved with providing care can strain even the most capable person. The resulting feelings of anger, anxiety, sadness, isolation, exhaustion—and then guilt for having these feelings—can exact a heavy toll.

When you're a caregiver it's easy to forget about your own needs. After all, you're a caregiver not a me-giver. Right? Well, yes and no. As difficult as it might seem, you need to pay attention to yourself too. Why?